Should You Keep Your Inherited House? How to Assess the Costs

If you're like most people who've just inherited a house, you're probably struggling to decide what to do with the asset. Given the dismal state of the current housing market, it may be tempting to hold onto the property for a few years to give house prices a chance to recover, while potentially taking advantage of escalating rent prices in the meantime. Before you can justify taking this approach, however, you'll need to have a clear idea of what it will cost to keep the home. Here are the items you should include in your calculation.

Reducing Rental Property Investment Risks

While common problems such as a lack of planning, unclear goals, and inadequate market research will always be contributing factors to nonexistent or negative profit margins for a certain percentage of real estate investors, a larger percentage will fall prey to what James McClelland, CEO and president of the single family home investment firm MACK Companies, calls the "Number one reason why people fail at real estate investing"---poor property management.

Common Maintenance Issues and How to Avoid Getting Calls About Them

Once you've placed a responsible tenant in your rental, your major responsibilities as a landlord, outside of collecting rent, will likely revolve around keeping the property in good repair. Assuming you'd like your rental income to remain as passive a revenue stream as possible, here are some common maintenance issues that it's worth working with your tenant to deal with proactively.

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Rental Property Reporter is the oldest Internet resource designed to help landlords manage their rental properties. This site offers hundreds of original articles, tools and links to helpful online resources. Our goal is to provide best practice rental property management information and advice to do-it-yourself landlords and rental property investors. We publish regular columns, tips, and regular newsletters. Learn more about this Partner